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New William Lennon Derby Boot - Singular!

jimmer_5

Practically Family
Messages
667
Location
Oregon
No, that is not a typo in the title - I said "boot" in the singular.

Allow me to explain:

A few months back, I saw a pair of William Lennon boots that belonged to a member here, and decided I would like to get a pair based on their "Derby" style, but without the holes in the cap toe. I sent an e-mail to William Lennon with a picture of his boots and asked for a pair exactly like his, but two inches taller in the leg. Their sales staff was very helpful and easy to work with.

This afternoon, I got home from work and saw a package from England waiting for me. The box seemed a little light, but I shrugged it off and opened it up.

Inside was a single boot. lol

Mind you, it is a beautifully crafted boot, and it is very close to my specs, but I had to laugh at such an obvious mistake. Please note that I am NOT bashing William Lennon - I am extremely impressed with this boot, and I fully believe that they will get the other one to me. I just got quite a chuckle out of this and wanted to share my experience. I have sent them a polite e-mail concerning the matter and I am very curious to hear their reply.

In any case, the boot differs from what I asked for in two areas - the rubber half sole is much thinner that the other pairs I have seen, and the color is a darker brown rather than the dark tan (saddle tan) that I requested. I actually like the dark brown a lot, soit may not be a very big deal, but I am a little disappointed at the thin rubber half sole.

In any case, here are two pics - the first i the boot I received, and the second is an image of the pair I aked them to base mine on - I sent it along with my order.

I'll let you all know when this gets figured out - in any case, I still highly recommend William Lennon - I am really looking forwart to wearing my new boot(s).



***EDITED TO ADD***

OK, THEY GOT BACK TO ME THE NEXT MORNING, AND IT TURNS OUT THAT WHEN THEY SHIP INTERNATIONAL, THEY HAVE TO SHIP THE BOOTS IN SEPARATE PACKAGES TO KEEP THE WEIGHT UNDER THE LIMIT. I'M NOT SUREIS THIS IS TRUE FOR ALL SIZES, BUT MY BOOTS ARE A SIZE 13 US (12 UK) SO THEY ARE PRETTY BIG AND HEAVY.

THIS WAS NOT A MISTAKE ON THEIR PART - IT WAS ACTUALLY A WAY TO KEEP THE SHIPPING COST DOWN. I paid 30 pounds ($47.70 USD) for shipping, and if they had shipped both boots together, they say the cost would have been 50 pounds ($79.51 USD)





A picture of my new boot:
WilliamLennonCustomDerbyBootcollage.jpg




A picture of the boots that belong to a member of this forum (that mine were based on) - this is the color I asked for, and you can see the different, thicker rubber sole:
WilliamLennonoriginalreference.jpg
 

H.Johnson

One Too Many
Messages
1,562
Location
Midlands, UK
I live near to the William Lennon factory if you need any direct assistance...

They do thing sdifferently in Stoney Middleton. If you treat the one boot nicely, they may agree to let you have the other one...
 

Creeping Past

One Too Many
Messages
1,567
Location
England
Doublegun said:
I too have been oggling the WL's for quite a while. How do you size them compared to US?

2xgun: from the US, for UK footwear you may have to go one size down, but sometimes just a half size. You may find the UK medium wider than the US medium. From my experience, WL's boots are way wider than Red Wings, for example.

Best to ask WL direct for the best advice, because they make a range of styles and sizing may differ.

BT: best check what sort of hobs they've got. Maybe only round ones in stock. I asked about triple hobs and other options a while back but they didn't do them.
 

jimmer_5

Practically Family
Messages
667
Location
Oregon
OK, they got back to me this morning, and the boots were shipped in separate boxes at the same time - apparently there is a weight limit for certain types of opverseas shipping. It would have been helpful to know that they were coming this way, but it's not big deal as long as the other one shows up soon.

The construction is very nice - they strike me as a very well made, old fashioned (in a good way) pair of boots. The leather is thick, but not overly thick (ie, they should break in nicely), and they have that wonderful new leather smell. The saleman from William Lennon also told me this morning tht the color I got is called "dark brown latigo" and the color I asked for is called "mid brown latigo". The half sole on mine is thinner because apparently they have to use a different sole material for the larger sizes.

I am very slightly disappointed about the color, but truthfully, I had a hard time choosing between them in the first place, so it's not a big deal. The thin half sole is actually disappointing, but it's a really easy fix - I'll just have a thicker one put on eventually when I wear out the heel pads.


I will report on the comfort when I get the second boot and have a chance to wear them.
 

Atterbury Dodd

One Too Many
Messages
1,061
Location
The South
Those are beautiful. Now I want a pair!

Are the ones your friend owns partially pegged? Between the half sole and the heel it almost looks like I can see wooden pegs.
 

Creeping Past

One Too Many
Messages
1,567
Location
England
jimmer_5 said:
The thin half sole is actually disappointing, but it's a really easy fix - I'll just have a thicker one put on eventually when I wear out the heel pads.

And the rubber sole is just stuck on to a double leather sole, an easy replacement to make. Shame they can't do that there, but like you say it's not a big problem.
 

jimmer_5

Practically Family
Messages
667
Location
Oregon
I forgot to mention how much these cost - the standard "Derby" boots are 124 pounds ($197).


With the customizing I requested (2" taller, no holes in the toe caps), my boots cost me 130 pounds ($206). The killer was the shipping - it cost 30 pounds to ship them to the US ($47)

So the grand total was about $260 US dollars.

I think they were worth it. This price puts them in the league of Red Wings and other simlar boots. I will post more of a real review when I actually get to wear them.
 

jimmer_5

Practically Family
Messages
667
Location
Oregon
Atterbury Dodd said:
Those are beautiful. Now I want a pair!

Are the ones your friend owns partially pegged? Between the half sole and the heel it almost looks like I can see wooden pegs.


I can't speak for his pair as I have only seen a picture of them, but on mine, there are brass nails in that area.
 

blethook

One of the Regulars
Messages
214
Location
Dorset, England
yes...I have done the same

Posting a pair of boots separately to keep the postage down, that is :D

From the UK, if you send a package overseas that weighs over 2kg, you will get charged an arm & a leg... In the case of a pair of boots, you simply send one boot per box. The total postage costs for the two boxes weighing less than 2 kg each will be a lot less than simply sending a single box weighing over 2 kg. [huh]

Nice boots by the way!! I have their WWI B15 boots...
 

Methuselah

One of the Regulars
Messages
281
Location
Manchester, England
Nice boots, I was eyeing up some similar ones on their site last week.
I'm in Hope (where the company is) quite a lot, I may have to pay a visit if they have an outlet.
 

blethook

One of the Regulars
Messages
214
Location
Dorset, England
I got mine in December

Creeping Past said:
The WW1 boots are something else. Did you get them plain-soled or hobnailed? If so, what sort of hobs?

But have only worn them once because of the leather soles...Too slippery to wear in the winter lol

Mine come with plain leather soles & rubber heels. The standard B15 boots wouldn't be practical for day to day use.

The fit is a bit odd because of the square toe shape. I normally wear size 8 (UK) but they were too large/long for me, so ended up ordering size 7, which fits better.

I have the feeling breaking in the boots will involve a lot of pain since they are very stiff...(very old school construction)

A couple of photos below:

WilliamLennonB15002.jpg


WilliamLennonB15005.jpg
 

Creeping Past

One Too Many
Messages
1,567
Location
England
BellyTank said:
That "square" toe makes a comfy boot for hiking and climbing-
-now, you just need a kilo of nails belted into the soles!

B
T

Get some tricounis banged in around the edges, some cross-shape hobs in the middle and Bob's your uncle - the 10 pound boot. Mind your knees.
 

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